Member Spotlight: Interview with Kirsten Herold and Ian Robinson

KIRSTEN HEROLD & IAN ROBINSON

Ian Robinson with his wife Dorceta and daughters Shaina and Justine alongside Kirsten Herold and her daughter Lisa. This photo was taken during the campaign for LEO’s first collective bargaining agreement in 2004.

This month we will launch our Member Spotlight series to highlight some of the many achievements of LEO Lecturers. To kick us off we are featuring our current LEO President Kirsten Herold and her predecessor Ian Robinson. This interview was conducted following their presidential transition.

Tell us about yourself. 

Ian Robinson: I’ve taught in the Residential College’s Social Theory and Practice program, and in the Department of Sociology, on the Ann Arbor Campus since the Fall of 1998. One third of my appointment is as a Research Scientist. I got involved in the LEO’s volunteer Organizing Committee (OC) in 2002, relatively early in the LEO organizing effort.  Participation in the OC was a huge eye-opener for me, as organizing conversations schooled me on inequities in pay and working conditions, disrespect and abuses of authority in other Ann Arbor units and on the Flint and Dearborn campuses. I was elected as one of the Ann Arbor Campus Council Co-Chairs in the first round of elections in 2003 and continued in that role for about a decade. I stepped down from LEO leadership at that point, to run for President of the Huron Valley Area Labor Federation (HVALF), AFL-CIO.  My slate and I won that election and I remain HVALF President today. I then ran for LEO President in the Fall of 2016, winning by a narrow margin, and was re-elected in 2018, completing my stint as LEO President on April 30, 2021. Over these years, my wife Dorceta and my children, Shaina and Justine, were generally stoic about the time we didn’t spend together because I was doing LEO or HVALF work. They weren’t always thrilled about it, but they recognized, I think, that these commitments reflected who I am. I’ll always be grateful that they were willing to sacrifice some of our time together without making me feel too guilty about it. 

“They had at the time 70 or 80 lecturers. It was a terrible system. I remember being told,  ‘we’ve effectively made a system where seniority is a minus factor’ ”

— Kirsten Herold

Kirsten Herold: I’m a Lecturer in the AA School of Public Health, where I run a small writing lab. I’ve been a lecturer since 1992 when I finished my PhD in English Language and Literature from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. I have been VP since 2005. I’ve been active with LEO since the beginning, first as chair of the organizing committee, then serving on all six bargaining teams, representing lecturers on all three campuses on issues from paycheck errors to serious disciplinary action. I was team manager in our ground-breaking 2017-18 campaign and continued in that role for the 2021 campaign.

I was first the campus Chair in Ann Arbor with Jim Anderson in Flint and Bonnie Halloran in Dearborn. I remember the beginning of the campaign. I would walk to the LEO Office above the Michigan Theater and hover over the phone to hear what was happening on the other two campuses. I was teaching in the English department which was particularly fertile ground in those early days. They had a lot of people graduating with English degrees, but there weren’t a lot of jobs. Even if you did get a job at another university, it took 2-3 years from graduation until you started. So, there was a revolving door of lecturers who taught in this huge writing program. They had at the time 70 or 80 lecturers. It was a terrible system. I remember being told,  “we’ve effectively made a system where seniority is a minus factor” because they were viewing these jobs as stop-gap jobs, not professional jobs. But of course, a lot of people did stay for all the reasons academics stay – family in the area, etc. That was how I got involved. It was a feeling that there’s got to be a better way to do this. I grew up in Denmark and one thing that's different about that is there is much higher union density in general, especially in the public sector. In Denmark the vast majority of people belong to unions. For me there was nothing “unprofessional” about belonging to a Union.

For IR: What are you most proud of during your time as President of LEO? 

Ian Robinson: I’m very proud of how many members are now active in LEO, and how much positive energy and creativity they bring to the volunteer work they do for our union. I’m also super proud of the ideals of solidarity that animate so many members, manifest especially strongly in our support for the One University campaign and its efforts on behalf of Flint and Dearborn students over the last three years, in our commitment to cross-campus parity on salary minimums in the 2021 round of collective bargaining, and in the leadership role LEO is playing in the All-Campus Labor Council. Last but not least, I’m proud of the sense of community that exists among Lecturers thanks to LEO, the powerful bonds of friendship that I see manifest in our meetings (even on Zoom!), and the laughter and good grace that animates so much of our work together, even when we’re under pressure. I have so much love and respect for the people who become active in LEO!

For KH: Why did you run for the LEO president position? 

Kirsten Herold: When I look back on nearly two decades of LEO activism, we achieved a lot. We have a healthy union, with a strong contract, and dynamic, active stewards’ councils on all three campuses, a plethora of committees doing important work, and a leadership with a good mix of seasoned veterans and newly engaged members. We have built an active council of campus unions, and we have strong relations with our Board of Regents and other political and campus leaders. We finally serve on important university committees and our voices are heard.  This work took time, too much time, but LEO has changed the culture of this institution. I am proud to have been at the forefront of this effort. 

The work of LEO president falls in three categories:  One is as the outside face of LEO, working on PR (with the Communications Committee) and building connections with area, state,  and national labor organizations. There is also the internal face – signing up and representing members, building a participatory membership structure.  With a turnover of about 300 lecturers a year, getting new members involved remains an ongoing challenge.  Finally, as an employer, with a duty of responsible stewardship of our members’ money, we need to supervise our fantastic staff and maintain sound financial practices.  This work is not sexy or glamorous, but it is a core function of a union president. I believe I have the leadership and experience for all three roles. 

“[Current] LEO leaders need to help develop the next generation of LEO leaders — encouraging volunteers with that potential to take on tasks that will develop their leadership skills...”

— Ian Robinson

For IR: What advice would you give to the next cohort of LEO leadership? 

Ian Robinson: Because LEO members are so good at so many different things, and are so dedicated to doing the best we can for our students, LEO leaders have amazing resources at our disposal. To fully utilize this potential, we need to devolve a lot of decision-making authority to LEO’s campus councils and committees, so that our activists have real responsibility. This means giving up any desire we may have to have all important decisions run through us. We should, of course, try to stay aware of all important developments in the union, and weigh in as we think it is necessary, but we shouldn’t try to control all of them. One of the most important things LEO leaders can do is to help new member-volunteers find the spaces within LEO committees, campus councils, working groups, etc, where they can contribute in ways that they find fulfilling and the union finds useful. A second vital contribution is to find and support LEO organizing staff who can maintain the right balance between challenging leaders and volunteers to step outside our comfort zones, acquire new skills, and commit to new types of engagement, while also respecting our status as a member-run organization.  Last but not least, LEO leaders need to help develop the next generation of LEO leaders -- encouraging volunteers with that potential to take on tasks that will develop their leadership skills, holding them accountable for doing the things they commit to, and providing them with the kinds of support they need to succeed in those endeavors. 

“I hope that we can continue as a union to welcome many voices. As a labor organization, we represent all the workers in this bargaining unit and we should be as open and inclusive as possible. ”

— Kirsten Herold

For KH: What do you see in the future for LEO? What are you looking forward to?

Kirsten Herold: I'm looking forward to seeing all the ways members will be benefiting from another great contract. I'm looking forward to seeing new members of all ages becoming more involved in the union. You know, I don't necessarily think it's just young people, but just anybody who wants to be involved as far as I'm concerned is welcome. I think we're in a really strong position. Doesn't mean we're perfect. We can always do better, but I think we're in a really strong position. We've been certified since 2003, we've had a contract since 2004 but I have felt that it's only been in the last few years that we are, sometimes we're adversaries from the university, but we're also partners in an enterprise that we actually care about. It’s about quality education for our students. I hope that we can continue as a union to welcome many voices. As a labor organization, we represent all the workers in this bargaining unit and we should be as open and inclusive as possible. 

Anything else you’d like to share?

Ian Robinson: When I took on this work, almost two decades ago, I had no idea how much it would make me grow in ways that I have found deeply fulfilling.  When I began, I believed in solidarity and justice and I wanted to contribute to the common good.  But I had very little sense of how to do that as a member of a democratic organization, let alone what kinds of skills and attitudes are required to enable someone to be a good leader in such an organization.  I can say with no false modesty that I still have a lot to learn in these departments, but what I have learned, I learned through my engagement with other LEO members and leaders as we worked together on the challenges that we set ourselves as an organization.  As someone who gets bored easily, that continuous learning has been exciting and a huge relief.  I’m so grateful to LEO members for honoring me with election to leadership roles within our organization that allowed me to grow and live such an interesting life.

Kirsten Herold: I'm really proud of what we built. I think we built a pretty great organization. I think we're definitely a kick ass union. One of the things that gives me pleasure and pride is seeing people talking to each other that I know would never have met each other if it wasn't for this union. So, with that community we built, people have formed really important lifelong friendships. That's no small thing. In addition to having a terrific contract, that will only keep getting better, the quality of life piece is really important. And I know it wouldn't have happened without us.

“I think we built a pretty great organization. I think we’re definitely a kick ass union.”

— Kirsten Herold